The battle royal between the two Diwali releases — Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya is over with Farah taking away the cake as OSO turned out blockbuster while Saawariya bit the dust.

Shah Rukh Khan has proved once again he is King Khan and every Diwali has been an auspicious period for him right from 1993’s Baazigar. OSO adds more power to his elbow. Basking in the glory of his latest film, SRK stole the show at the 38th International Film Festival in Goa as the chief guest. The biggest shock came from Yash Raj Films, whose three films flopped, barring Chak De India, in a row with Tara Rum Pum, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and Laaga Chunari Mein Daag. But they did spring back with Aaja Nachle that marks the return of Dhak Dhak girl Madhuri Dixit, that released at the fag end of November.

The hype for the two Diwali releases- Om Shanti Om and Saawariya was so damning for other filmmakers that neither there was any release worth its name prior or post Diwali other than these two biggies. The continuous hammering of promos on electronic and print media paid rich dividend for OSO. Saawariya on the other hand, had dismal collection.

OSO has shattered all box-office records in the overseas market by topping the charts there. SRK attended the London premiere of his film which turned out to be a money spinner as the film fetched about 29 crores in the first week and 20 crores in the second week, making it one of the biggest grosser in the overseas this year.

Saawariya may not be doing too well commercially, but for diehard romantics, the film is a treat. The way Sanjay Leela Bhansali has handled the movie is worth a compliment. He is one of the few directors who can actually narrate this type of film effortlessly. Watching Ranbir Kapoor sing, dance and emote just leaves you awestruck.

Sonam Kapoor is subdued. Bhansali lends a magic touch to the film. However, the film is an interesting short story made to stretch into a full-length feature film. Salman Khan and Rani Mukherjee are wasted. It has a slow pace and looks like an old fashioned film which is why audience did not accept it. The collections of Saawariya are dropping and it has been declared as a losing proposition.

Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal had an opening of 70 to 80 per cent at multiplexes despite the fact that the last few releases of John Abraham like Babul and No Smoking had fared badly at the box-office. However, the film which has hardly any sports scenes and is badly scripted and directed may not sustain in the long run. November saw the lowest releases at five. Dhan Dhana Dhan has opened to an average response everywhere.